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Day 33 John 18:28 John 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? 30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: 32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spoke, signifying what death he should die. 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? 34 Jesus answered him, Say thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? 35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou say that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice. 38 Pilate said unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and said unto them, I find in him no fault at all. 39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? 40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Jealousy can do a lot of harm, even get a person killed. From the moment Jesus started His ministry, the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees tried to find a way to get rid of Jesus because He brought a pure message to the people. They wanted the acclaim they enjoyed before Jesus started teaching the people about the kingdom of God. Their jealousy went to new heights when they brought Jesus before Pilate to put Him to death, even preferring Barabbas over Jesus. Pilate saw through their plot against Jesus when he declared he found no fault in Jesus, and thought by giving them the choice between an innocent man, Jesus, and a murderer, Barabbas, the rulers would relent and save the innocent person and put the murderer to death on the cross. However, the rulers surprised Pilate by demanding Barabbas go free and Jesus crucified. Pilate had no choice but to accede to the rulers’ request for Jesus’ death. In so doing, Pilate fulfilled Scripture and brought salvation to the world. Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (KJV) As Christians, you know Jesus was the sin offering you needed in order to obtain salvation. It couldn’t happen any other way. So, though the rulers sought Jesus’ death out of jealousy, they did so, fulfilling Scripture and brought the world salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish or spot. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for bringing me to salvation through Your Son, Jesus. Help me be thankful for the substitution made for me so I can have eternal life through His shed blood on the cross. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 4 January 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay